The Curious Incident of the Girl in the Afternoon
by Old-fashionedAnglophile
Summary: When a little girl goes missing on the estate, it leads to an interesting conversation. Oneshot. I don't own any of the characters or fandoms unfortunately. Leave feedback please, cause I'm really not sure about this one.


_Hmm_ , Elsie thought to herself. _Where is that little girl?_

Family of Tom Branson had come to visit from Ireland, bringing with them their three children, two boys and a little girl. The girl was ten years old, and had managed to get herself lost on the estate.

Tom was running about frantically while the servants looked for her in the woods. The MacGill's were trying to keep the boys in line, and Lord Grantham was just exasperated. No one had noticed when feeble old Elsie Carson had hobbled away in search of the girl herself.

She was sitting on a bench near the house, wondering where a little girl would go to be by herself, for she surely hadn't been taken. She sat looking across the sprawling grounds, when she heard a giggle. Elsie swung her head in that direction and smiled. She had a good idea of where little Jessie was.

…

She stood in the shadow of the willow tree and watched in awe. Elsie had found little Jessica in the rose garden as suspected, but she had found something else as well.

Jessie was sprawled in the grass lazily, and if you didn't look above her It would seem that she was simply enjoying the grass and the sun. Above her, four pink roses floated on the breeze, and her hand twirled which made the flowers dance with the motion.

The scene that lay before her defied rational explanation, then again, most of her life did. She had never seen magic like this. Magic with the purity and lightness of a child. In her day, she had only seen the darker side of magic. The side that hurt people. The side that destroyed lives. This magic was a refreshing change.

Elsie hobbled forward with her cane and sat on the bench, but the little girl didn't notice. She was so lost in her own little world of summer and roses that she didn't hear the seventy year-old woman shuffling about. As much as she hated to break the little girl's peaceful musings, she had no choice. She cleared her throat.

At the sound of the cough, Jessica sat up and spun around. The sudden break in concentration caused the flowers to plummet sadly to the ground. The blonde, curly-haired girl looked up at her in fear, puzzling Elsie.

"What's the matter Miss Jessica?" she asked the fearful little girl.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in response.

"Whatever are you sorry for?"

"I'm not supposed to do magic in front of people," she said. "It's not allowed."

 _That explains why she looks so afraid. She thinks she's going to be punished._

"Don't worry about that child," Elsie told her with a gentle smile. "I won't tell."

Jessica took on an expression of almost comical relief. Elsie chuckled and patted the seat next to her.

"Come and sit for awhile Miss MacGill. I'd love to chat for a time."

The girl got up and went over to the bench. She sat down carefully and then looked up at Elsie in puzzlement. Elsie noticed the burning question immediately.

"Do you have a question?"

"Yes," the little girl said.

"You can ask your question dear," Elsie told her in amusement. She loved how small children could be.

"You didn't seem afraid of my magic. Why is that Mrs. Carson?"

Elsie hesitated. How would she answer that? How should she answer that?

"Well… you aren't the first person I've met who dabbled in magic," she finally admitted.

Little Jessica's face lit up.

"You mean you've met other witches and wizards?" she asked in wonder.

"Of a sort."

"Do they live near Downton?"

"No. I met this witch years ago at a time that I lived nowhere near Downton."

"Where did you live?" Jessica asked.

"The Caribbean if you can believe it."

The ten-year old's curiosity was piqued.

"What sort of magic did she do?"

"Well… this witch was strange. She wasn't human, and she practiced powerful spells."

"What kind of spells?"

Elsie smiled. Jessica MacGill certainly had a lot of questions.

"She could tell the future, control the sea, turn her body into crabs. She even brought a man I knew back from the dead."

Jessica looked at her in bewilderment.

"That's impossible," the girl insisted. "No witch could bring back the dead."

"Well she wasn't a human witch," Elsie explained.

"What was she then?"

"Her name is Calypso, and she is the sea."

"You're having me on," the girl giggled.

"I am not," Elsie told her. "She brought my father back from the dead."

"Are you sure he was dead?"

"Aye lassie. I watched him get shot through the heart. A year later she brought him to me alive and well."

Jessica looked at her in confusion.

"How is it that I've never heard of this. Surely someone would have put such a thing in the newspaper?"

"Well… this happened before newspapers. I'm much older than I look you see."

"How much older?"

Elsie raised her eyebrows at the girl.

"Now Miss Jessica, surely you know it is impolite to ask a woman her age?"

Jessica turned red and looked up at her sheepishly.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh it's alright," Elsie told her with a smile. "I'm only teasing you lass."

The child instantly brightened.

"It sounds like a good story. Will you tell me?"

"No."

Jessica's face fell.

"Why not Mrs. Carson?"

"You're too young. That amount of information would make your wee head explode."

"I'll be old enough to go to school with my brothers soon. Surely I'm old enough to know now?"

Elsie shook her head and smiled.

"Not yet, but I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"I'll make a deal with you Jessica MacGill," Elsie told her conspiratorially. "If you come back to Downton in ten years and have tea with me, I will tell you everything you want to know. Deal?"

"What's the catch?" Jessica asked her carefully.

"There is none. All I ask for is a tea date."

Jessica thought it over carefully for a moment, a found it to be a fair deal. She smiled and shook the old housekeeper's hand.

"Deal."

Elsie laughed.

"Splendid lassie, I look forward to it."

"Could I come for tea with you anyway?" the little girl asked excitedly.

"If your parents allow you out of the house after this," came a booming voice from behind them. The two on the bench spun around to find an old and imposing man.

"Really Mr. Carson?" Jessica asked him in glee.

"Of course," he told her kindly. "But off with you now. Your parents have been looking for you."

"Yes, Mr. Carson," the little girl said. After giving each of the adults a quick hug she dashed out of the garden, leaving the pair laughing behind her.

Charles helped his wife off of the bench and Elsie placed her hand in the crook of her husband's elbow. As they walked out of the rose garden, he looked at her.

"What brought that on?"

"Oh, just a little chat," she told him.

"Am I allowed to know what this chat was about?" he asked her mischievously.

"No," she replied shaking her head.

"Why?"

"Because, everyone's entitled to their secrets Charles."

He laughed a booming laugh, and they continued to walked back to the Abbey, laughing all the way.


End file.
